Too Late
by LiveLoveLaughLife
Summary: Tsunade finally realizes how much she loves Jiraiya, but she turns out to be too late. Jiraiya is engaged to another woman. How far will Tsunade go to win back Jiraiya's heart? And did she really ever lose it? ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone. I was struck by an idea, and this is the result. I hope you like it. Please review!

* * *

_Tap, tap, tap._

Tsunade growled in frustration. How could she get this paperwork done when the rain kept distracting her? The way it tapped against the window made her think of Jiraiya. He would always tap on the window when he came to visit her in the middle of the night when she was still stuck in her office doing paperwork.

She claimed that she hated those visits, but honestly…she loved them. He always cheered her up, even when she was in the worst mood. She had really missed him this last month while he'd been away.

The last time she had spoken to him he told her that he was off to see someone in the Stone village. He hadn't planned on being gone more than a week.

And here it was, a month later.

Tsunade shook her head. She had to concentrate on her work if she ever hoped to get home. But some small part of her didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay here to see if he would show up, tapping on the window as he always did.

_Tap, tap, tap._

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade turned around in her chair, only to see the darkness and the sheets of rain falling from the sky and pounding against the window. Slowly, she turned back around, disappointment washing over her. She sighed.

_What the hell is wrong with me? _She thought, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. _Why do I miss that old pervert so much all of the sudden? It doesn't make sense. Kami, the way I think about him…it's like I'm in love with him._

Suddenly her heart gave a twinge and her stomach was filled with butterflies. Tsunade's eyes flew open. Was she…? No. She couldn't be…? In love? With Jiraiya? Impossible!

Tsunade bit her bottom lip. Was it really such a strange thought? Was it really impossible? Her and Jiraiya being together, as a couple? Maybe even…getting married? Everyone in the village knew how he felt about her. If she would just tell him how she felt about him…then maybe…just maybe…

But she was afraid. What if he went and died, like Dan? What if she couldn't save him?

_Tap, tap, tap._

This was Jiraiya she was thinking about. He was one of the Sannin! He was probably the least likely to die out of anyone she knew. So maybe she should just suck it up and take a risk.

_He loves me, and I…I…I love him. _She admitted it to herself. That was the first step, right? She had to admit it to herself before she could admit it to him.

_I love him._

_I love him!_

"I love him." Tsunade whispered. A smile spread across her face. If she could admit it to herself, then she could admit it to Jiraiya.

And so she decided. As soon as Jiraiya came back, she was going to tell him how she felt. She was going to tell him that she loved him with all of her heart.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama. Tsunade-sama? Tsunade-sama!"

"Huh? Tsunade blinked, staring up at Shizune. She leaned her head back and sighed. "Shizune, can't you see I'm sleeping?" When she had fallen asleep, she didn't know, but apparently she had never made it out of her office.

"Well, I just thought that you would like to know that Jiraiya-sama's back."

"What!?" Tsunade's eyes flew open and she sat upright, staring at Shizune. "You're sure?"

Shizune smiled. "Yes. I think he's on his way here, actually."

Tsunade's eyes widened. She immediately started combing through her hair with her fingers, while Shizune watched her.

"Do I look horrible?" Tsunade asked.

"Since when do you care what you look like to Jiraiya-sama?" Shizune asked, trying her hardest not to laugh. She had known about Tsunade's love for Jiraiya for months. She just wanted to hear Tsunade admit it.

Tsunade glared at the younger woman. "I don't think that's any of your business, Shizune."

Shizune shrugged. "I guess it's not." She turned to leave, and then glanced back at Tsunade. "You look fine, except you might want to wipe away the drool."

Tsunade's hand flew to her mouth. She drooled in her sleep. Great. That's definitely a turn on...

"And…Tsunade-sama?"

"What?" Tsunade asked, fixing a pigtail.

"Please don't chicken out. He loves you, too." And Shizune disappeared.

Tsunade froze. How did she know…? Damn. Tsunade really had to start giving Shizune more credit.

A few excruciatingly long minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Tsunade tried to look busy, and then called, "Enter."

"Hey, Tsunade-hime!" The familiar greeting made Tsunade smile. She looked up at Jiraiya. What had she been so afraid of…really? Just looking in his eyes made her heart melt. She knew they were meant for each other. They had to be.

"Jiraiya." Tsunade said. "Where've you been? You said you'd be gone for a week! It's been a month, baka!"

Jiraiya grinned and leaned his hands on her desk. "Wow, hime. It sounds like you missed me."

Tsunade tried not to blush. "Well, I did."

Jiraiya was taken off guard. Normally, Tsunade's response to that was something more along the lines of, "In your dreams, pervert."

Jiraiya leaned casually against the side of her desk. "I missed you, too." Maybe he was pushing his luck…but something about Tsunade seemed different. When had he ever made her blush like that before?

Tsunade's heart pounded in her chest. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "Listen, Jiraiya. I have something I want to tell you."

"What is it, hime?"

Tsunade took a deep breath. "Well…Jiraiya…"

She stood up and walked around her desk, facing him. She was trying to make herself eye-level to him, but it didn't quite work. She was still to short.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at her.

"Tsunade…you're acting really strange. Are you feeling ok—," He was cut off by the feeling of lips touching his.

Was Tsunade kissing him?

Jiraiya's arms wrapped around Tsunade's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her hands in his white hair. Jiraiya's lips moved with hers.

It was an amazing feeling. Tsunade's heart was hammering violently in her chest, threatening to explode. She felt light-headed. She hadn't felt this since she had kissed Dan, all those years ago. She didn't realize how much she had missed the feeling until right now. It was the most amazing sensation in the world.

Finally, they broke apart, both of them panting. Tsunade stared straight into Jiraiya's dark eyes.

"I love you." Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

* * *

A/N: Well, I hope you liked it. I should have it updated soon. Thanks for reading and please review. I'll gladly consider any suggestions!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You're all awesome!

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

"YES!"

"Shh! Shizune, shut up! They'll here us! They aren't called Sannin for nothing!" Sakura whispered urgently.

"Yeah, but why am _I_ here?" Naruto whined.

"Shut up, Naruto." Sakura and Shizune both whispered.

The three of them were perched precariously in the high branches of a tree. From the right angle, you could see straight into the Hokage's office, were Tsunade and Jiraiya were currently kissing.

"How much do you want to bet they do it on the desk?" Naruto mumbled.

"You're such a pervert." Sakura shoved him. He flipped over backwards off of the tree but managed to grab onto a branch and pull himself back up, grumbling. He had just had to follow Sakura when Shizune told her about Jiraiya and Tsunade, didn't he? He, personally, thought that the two of them were way too interested in the Sannin's love life than they ought to be.

"Besides," Shizune said quietly, not taking her eyes off of Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Everyone knows they would do it on the floor."

Naruto and Sakura both turned to stare at the medic with wide eyes.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Where'd _that_ come from?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Well…that's what I'd do." Shizune blushed. Sakura smiled.

"With Genma."

"No!" Shizune exclaimed, her face getting redder.

"Admit it!" Sakura giggled. "You definitely have a crush on him! Awww, Shizune! You two would make such a cute couple, you know? And he's pretty hot. You have good taste."

Shizune smiled. "Well, I—,"

"Hey! Pervert one and two!" Naruto exclaimed. And they were the ones calling _him_ a pervert! "Granny Tsunade and Pervy Sage just stopped making out."

All of them turned their gaze to the window.

* * *

Jiraiya stared at Tsunade in disbelief. Did she just tell him that she _loved_ him? This was _Tsunade_! He had tried for years to get her to just go on a date with him. Just one date! And now, all of the sudden, she kisses him and says that she loves him? What gives?

It's not like he wasn't unhappy about it. He was ecstatic. Or, he would be…if it wasn't for just one little issue.

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade said.

Jiraiya's mouth twitched. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to tell her.

Tsunade pulled away from him. "If you don't feel the same way, I…I understand." _No, I don't! _Her insides were screaming.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya mumbled her name. He put his hand on her cheek and stared into her eyes. "I…Well; I guess I should have said something sooner."

Tsunade looked confused, so he continued.

"Tsunade, I'm engaged."

That was like a knife through the heart and a punch in the stomach at the same time, for Tsunade. She backed farther away from him, until she bumped into her desk. This couldn't be happening. Jiraiya couldn't be engaged. It's Jiraiya!

But hadn't she just been thinking about how marrying him wasn't that absurd of an idea?

"I'm sorry." Jiraiya's voice was soft.

Tsunade wanted to yell and scream at him. How could he do this to her? He was the only constant thing in her life, other than Shizune. Jiraiya was always there to catch her when she fell. She had grown so close to him since him and Naruto had convinced her to become Hokage, all those years ago. She was finally ready to give her heart to him.

And now, he was engaged.

She was too late.

"Tsunade?"

Tsunade swallowed and tried to breathe evenly. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to find her voice. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, she spoke quietly.

"Why did you kiss me back?" She was willing herself not to cry. She couldn't make herself seem anymore vulnerable to him than she just had. Crying was out of the question.

"I was…taken by surprise."

That was a lie. Yes, it was true that she had taken him off guard, but he could have easily pushed her away. But instead he had pulled her closer. He had always wanted to know what kissing Tsunade would be like. And, even if he was engaged, he was certain that no other woman could ever completely replace the way he felt about Tsunade. He had loved her for to long. He still loved her, and he knew that he always would.

"Oh," Tsunade's voice was shaky.

What she really wanted to do was scream, _"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT!?" _but she just couldn't find the strength. She was to busy focusing on not crying.

_Damnit, Tsunade. _Jiraiya found himself thinking. _Why couldn't you have told me earlier? If I had thought, even for a second, that you loved me…that we ever had a chance together…then I wouldn't be engaged right now._

"I'm really sorry, Tsunade." Jiraiya's voice was quiet. "I'm so, so sorry."

Tsunade tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "It's…I mean…don't worry about it. I shouldn't have just come at you like that. I should be the one that's sorry."

Jiraiya closed the space between them and placed a hand on her cheek. "Don't be sorry, hime."

Tsunade twisted her face away from him. He dropped his hand.

"I have work to do." Tsunade mumbled. "I think you should go."

Jiraiya stared into her hazel eyes for a few more seconds and then nodded. "Okay. I'll…see you around."

He turned and left the office. The door fell shut with a soft _click_.

Tsunade waited the total amount of three seconds before she slid down her desk and pulled her knees up to her chest and began sobbing.

This was what she was afraid of. Well, not this exactly. She had never seen _this_ coming. She had been afraid that she wouldn't be able to save him and that he would die…or that maybe he would get bored with her and cheat…or even that he wouldn't accept her. But _this_!

And the worst part about it—he had kissed her back. She had loved every minute of it. But now thinking about it made her heart ache. Such a wonderful, amazing, incredible feeling was now causing her pain.

How could he do this to her?

How could he hurt her this badly?

How could he rip her heart apart?

How could he be _engaged_?

* * *

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know! Where'd Tsunade go?" Sakura responded to him, straining her neck for a better view into the window.

"Jiraiya left." Shizune said. "Look." She pointed to the bottom of the Hokage Tower where the familiar white haired pervert was just appearing. Shizune watched him while Naruto and Sakura tried to see into Tsunade's office.

Shizune's sharp intake of breath made Sakura and Naruto whip around to stare at her.

"What is it!?" Sakura demanded.

"There's…there's another woman."

"_WHAT!?_" Both Naruto and Sakura nearly shouted. They followed Shizune's gaze.

Down below, there was a dark haired woman with her arms wrapped around Jiraiya. He kissed her and then they started talking. They appeared to agree on something, and then they began walking down the street, hands intertwined.

Shizune, Sakura, and Naruto all turned to face each other with wide eyes.

"If Jiraiya has an actual girlfriend…," Shizune trailed off, realization dawning on her.

"And Tsunade just told him that she loves him…," Sakura also trailed off.

"Then that means…," Naruto looked at the other two.

"Tsunade-sama just got her heart broken."

* * *

A/N: Well, what did you think? Please review and tell me what you liked/hated or what I can improve. Also, any ideas for Jiraiya's fiancee's name? I was thinking about Kaede...but it's just a thought. All reviews are greatly appreciated! So review, please? Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!! I hope everyone likes this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

There were no words for the guilt Shizune felt. None.

"_Don't chicken out." _She had said to Tsunade. _"He loves you too."_

Oh, how very wrong she had been. Jiraiya didn't love her. The filthy rotten pervert just wanted sex. That's why he was with that slutty little brunette. How could he choose that little whore over Tsunade?

Somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, Shizune knew that those accusations were unfair. She didn't _really_ know that all Jiraiya wanted was sex. Maybe he actually loved this girl. And maybe she wasn't even a whore. Maybe she was a nice, pleasant person.

Shizune snorted.

Naruto and Sakura turned to look at her. The disbelief of what they had all just realized was still fresh in their minds, and still written all over their faces.

"Poor Tsunade-sama." Sakura muttered, looking into the Hokage's office. Then she looked at Shizune. "Maybe you should go see her. You are way closer to her than Naruto or I am."

Shizune bit her lip. She hated the thought that Tsunade was in her office crying, but she hated the thought of being punched through a wall even more. Why did she have to suck at giving advice?

"I don't know…," Shizune mumbled.

"Just think about it for a minute, Shizune." Sakura pressed. "You're the only one she has."

Shizune stared at Sakura, and she knew that it was true. The only other person Tsunade cared deeply for in the village was Naruto…and let's face it; Naruto just isn't that great of a comforter. But then again…

Shizune's gaze flickered to his face, and then away. She did a double take. Naruto looked ready to kill. His face was scrunched up and there was visible hatred in his eyes. His hands were clenched into fists.

Sakura followed Shizune's stare and gasped when she saw Naruto.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

"How could he do that?" Naruto growled. "When I was away training with him, he would talk about Tsunade constantly. Something would remind him of _the good ol' days_ and he would start reminiscing. Then I would be stuck listening to him talk about Tsunade, over and over and over again. I may not notice who people have crushes on and all that junk, but I'm not so stupid as to not notice how much that old lecher loved Tsunade. And now, he suddenly changes his mind?"

Sakura stared at him. He was completely right.

Suddenly, Naruto stood up from the tree branch he was sitting on. "I'm going after him. I want to know what the hell he's thinking."

Shizune copied Naruto and stood up. "And I'm going to see Tsunade-sama. Sakura, you're right. She needs me."

Sakura, who didn't feel like being left out, also stood up. "Naruto, I'm coming with you."

Naruto nodded to show that he understood. Then he jumped from the tree branch with Sakura following him. Shizune followed, and set off walking towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Sakura had to nearly run to keep pace with Naruto. She had never seen him this angry or determined before. It was like a whole new Naruto.

"If I was a pervert, where would I go?" Naruto mumbled under his breath. He looked straight towards the hot springs.

"Remember, Naruto." Sakura piped up. "He's with that girl. He wouldn't be peeping right now…at least I don't think he would."

Naruto nodded. She did have a point. But where else could he be?

As if reading his thoughts, Sakura spoke. "Maybe we could try Ichiraku ramen?"

Naruto nodded once more. "Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

Shizune hurried through the streets of Konoha, towards the Hokage Tower. Sure, she could have jumped on the rooftops and made her entrance through the window in Tsunade's office, but she didn't think that now was the time to be sneaking up on the Hokage.

Plus, she wanted time to prepare what she was going to say when she entered the office. She honestly wasn't going to be surprised if Tsunade decided to yell, scream, throw her out a window, or anything else extremely painful. And she deserved it! Tsunade was the only person Shizune had had, since her parents were killed in the war along with her uncle. Tsunade didn't have to take little Shizune with her when she left, but she did. Shizune would always be grateful for that.

But what did she turn around and do? Give crappy advice. There weren't even words to describe what kind of horrible person Shizune felt that she was.

_Horrible, disgusting, cruel, evil, satanic, demonic, sickening…_None of them were bad enough for Shizune.

Shizune was only brought out of her trance when she felt herself collide with someone. She stumbled backwards as the person she ran into fell to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Shizune exclaimed. She offered the frazzled woman a hand.

The woman took it and stood up, dusting herself off. She looked like she was in her thirties. "Oh, no, it's my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm new to the village and I got lost." She smiled sheepishly.

"I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Shizune told her. "And maybe I could help you. Where are you trying to go?"

"Ichiraku Ramen." The woman said. "I was with my fiancé and I wanted to stop in a shop and look around for a bit, and he didn't. So we were going to meet at Ichiraku but I can't find the place. I swear I've been around this village three times already!"

Fiancé? A sudden thought struck Shizune. Was this Jiraiya's fiancé? She did have the same dark brown hair. Shizune ran her eyes down the woman's body quickly. She definitely didn't look like any type of slut or hooker. She was pretty nice, too, judging by the way she spoke to Shizune.

But…wasn't the girl that she, Naruto, and Sakura had seen just Jiraiya's girlfriend? Maybe there was more to this than they had thought.

And maybe Jiraiya really had found true love with this girl? Who knew?

The woman seemed to be getting uncomfortable as Shizune stared at her. Shizune quickly snapped back into the present.

"Oh, Ichiraku you said?" The woman nodded. "Just follow this road, make two lefts, and then you should see it." Shizune gestured with her hands.

"Oh, alright. Thank you so much."

"No problem." Shizune smiled. "I'm Shizune, by the way."

"Kaede," Kaede said. "I'm pleased to have met you, Shizune. You probably just saved me from having to walk around the village five more times." She laughed.

Shizune laughed too, although her laugh was slightly forced. "You're welcome, then."

"I really have to be going. I don't want my fiancé to know I got lost. This will be our little secret."

"My lips are sealed." Shizune said. "See you around."

"Bye, and thank you." Kaede turned and began walking in the direction Shizune had pointed out to her.

Shizune was stunned, to say the least. If that woman was actually Jiraiya's fiancé, then he had good taste. Who knew?

But Tsunade was still ten times better.

* * *

"Aha! Good thinking, Sakura!" Naruto cheered as he ran towards Ichiraku ramen and the familiar white bush of hair.

Sakura didn't reply, but just followed Naruto. She had no idea what he was planning to do, and she didn't want him to cause a scene. But then again, this was Naruto.

"Hey, Pervy Sage." Naruto called, stopping behind Jiraiya. Surprisingly, the woman was no where in sight.

Jiraiya turned around at the familiar nickname. He scowled. "Don't call me that!"

Naruto glared at him. Jiraiya looked at Sakura, who had an expression nearly identical to Naruto's.

"Whoa…what put you guys in such bad moods?" He questioned.

"You." Sakura said, surprising herself. Her plan had been to be quiet while Naruto did the talking.

"What did I do? I just got back to the village!" Jiraiya exclaimed. He had a feeling that he knew what this was about…but he didn't know how they had found out about him and Tsunade that quickly.

"Who's the girl?" Naruto asked.

"The…," Jiraiya trailed off. "My fiancé?"

"FIANCE!?" Sakura and Naruto both exclaimed. They had been under the impression that the mystery woman they had seen him with was his girlfriend.

"You're _engaged_?" Sakura was in shock. Naruto seemed frozen beside her.

Jiraiya sighed. "Alright you two, look. Just listen to me for a second, no interruptions, to yelling, no nothing. Just listen. Can you do that?" Jiraiya waited until they both nodded. "Good. When I left it wasn't like I planned to come back engaged. I always thought that he only person I could ever love would be Tsunade. Well, I was wrong. When I first saw Kaede—,"

"I bet it was at a hot spring." Naruto growled.

Jiraiya glared at him. "I thought I said no interruptions? And for your information, no, it was not. I met her when she dropped her groceries and I, being the gentleman that I am, offered to help. Now! Unless you have anything else to say, can I continue?" Naruto nodded and Jiraiya continued. "Anyway, when I first saw Kaede…I can't explain it. But I knew then that she could be the one. So, I got to know her…and she's perfect."

"And you just forgot about Tsunade?" Naruto growled. He felt like Tsunade was his family. She played a huge role in his life, and he hated it when someone hurt her. Yeah, it was true, Jiraiya was like family to him too…but in this case, Jiraiya was the one doing the hurting. So he was siding with Tsunade.

"Of course I didn't!" Jiraiya looked disgusted that Naruto could even suggest something like that. "I love her, too."

Sakura clenched her fist. "You can't love two people at once! It's not…it doesn't…you can't…it's just not right! It's not fair to either of them!"

Jiraiya sighed. "I know. But you two are too young to understand. I've cared for Tsunade all of my life, and never has she shown one ounce of interest. Mostly she told me to get lost or else she'd beat me up. And then I meet Kaede, and it's an instant connection. But then what happens when I come back to the village? Tsunade finally tells me that she loves me! I can't just leave Kaede like that. I may be a pervert, but I'm not a jerk. Even if I would rather be with Tsunade."

After he finished saying it, Jiraiya couldn't believe what he had said. He was confessing this to two teenagers who he could bet were going to run off and tell Shizune or Tsunade.

Sakura's eyes softened. He seemed to be in quite a dilemma.

Naruto didn't say anything, he just stared at Jiraiya.

"Now, are you two satisfied?" He asked. They both nodded. "Good. Now get lost. I'm supposed to meet Kaede and I don't need you two hanging around."

Sakura and Naruto turned and left, walking slowly down the street. Neither of them spoke.

"So…he would rather be with Granny Tsunade." Naruto spoke first, breaking the silence.

Sakura stopped in her tracks. Naruto continued walking before he noticed she wasn't beside him. "Huh? Sakura?" He turned to look at her.

"You know what this means, don't you?" She asked. She had a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Uh…no?"

"Baka. It means we have to get rid of this Kaede woman! Think about it. Jiraiya wants to be with Tsunade, and Tsunade wants to be with him. All we have to do is convince Kaede that Jiraiya's nothing but a pervert and that he'll be unfaithful to her so she would never want to marry him. And then she'll leave, and Tsunade and Jiraiya can be together! It's a foolproof plan!"

"Except how will we convince Kaede? We can't just walk up to her and tell her!"

"Duh. We'll take pictures of him peeping and…and…and I don't know what else yet! But this is going to work, I know it will! And Shizune will help us. It's ingenious!" Sakura was smiling now.

Naruto thought about it. "Okay. Let's do it!"

* * *

Shizune took a deep breath, and then knocked on the door to the Hokage's office. She didn't expect Tsunade to answer, but she did.

"Enter."

Shizune pushed the door open slowly, and then shut it behind her. She looked up at the blonde Hokage. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, doing paperwork. Not at all the scene Shizune had been expecting to find.

"Uh…Tsunade-sama?" Shizune walked forward.

Tsunade looked up at her. "What is it, Shizune?" Her voice sounded tired and sad.

Shizune searched Tsunade's face for signs of anger, or sadness. The Hokage's eyes were red from crying, but other than that there didn't seem to be anything. Tsunade's expression was blank.

"I was just wondering…how you're feeling?" Shizune knew how lame that sounded, but she didn't want to come right out and tell Tsunade that she had been spying.

A flash of emotion flickered across Tsunade's face. It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. "You know…how do you know already?"

Shizune gave Tsunade a tiny, guilty smile. "I was spying." So much for not coming right out and telling Tsunade.

Tsunade didn't say anything, and that was what really scared Shizune. If there was one thing that Tsunade hated as much as she hated perverts, it was being spied on. But now she didn't seem to care.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm so sorry. If I knew I…well I don't know, but still. I'm so sorry." Shizune burst out. "Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"

Tsunade stared at the younger woman. "I'm fine, Shizune."

That was obviously a lie. Shizune bit her bottom lip. She wanted to do something, anything, to help Tsunade.

"Please, Tsunade-sama." Shizune made her voice gentle. "No one would hold it against you if you cried. It's perfectly understandable."

Tsunade's eyes seemed to get glassy with unshed tears, but when she spoke her voice was confident. "Shizune, I'm fine. I have to be fine, whether I want to be or not. I'm the Hokage. I can't cry over things like this. I'm fine." Tsunade was trying to reassure herself more than she was Shizune.

Shizune looked at Tsunade sadly. "I'm here for you, Tsunade-sama. Just don't forget that, okay?"

Tsunade gave a feeble attempt to smile. "I know. And I'm thankful for that, Shizune. But I'm okay. I really am. Now, I have some work to do."

"Okay." Shizune said. She took the hint and left the office.

Sure, Tsunade acted like she was fine, but Shizune knew she wasn't. She was suppressing all of the pain. It hurt Shizune to see Tsunade so upset. She had to do something about it.

She just didn't know what.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. I hoped you liked it!


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